Sandy Hook, Connecticut

In her mind, there is no such thing
as a stranger. Her heart is big, 
arms are bigger. 
Those who visit, are family. 
She's quiet. Reserved. 
Not many people know her,
oh but when they meet her,
they are blessed.

She's beautiful. 
Like a winter rose, snow
on the ground. 
She's like a purple sky
when the sun comes,
bringing new life to everything 
it shines on. 

The more you know, the 
more you need her. The 
more you love, the more you
see her heart. She's a shining star,
she's beautiful like that. 

She's proud of where she's from,
waving her country's flag for all to see. 
When the church bells ring, her friends 
gather. They sip on lemonade and sneak 
out to the baseball fields. Strike 3...
You're out! Oh but she smiles. 
Nothing can bring her down.

She looks into the distance.
She sees the children playing, 
she can hear them laughing. 
Her life was simple, happy, perfect.
But in the blink of an eye, it was over. 

She stands tall. Now everyone knows 
her name. 
She's on the front page of the paper.
She's crying. Her clock stands still. 
But she refuses to break. 


She's beautiful. 
Like a winter rose, snow
on the ground. 
She's like a purple sky
when the sun comes,
bringing new life to everything 
it shines on. 


     Ever since I was born, my family has moved all over the place. Each time my dad got a new job offer, we would pick up and leave. I'm originally from Illinois, I was moved to Mexico City, back to Illinois, to Connecticut, to Northern Kentucky, and now Richmond Kentucky. So, home is hard to clarify for me. I know, you all have heard of Sandy Hook, Connecticut. Hard to believe right? Well, that's where I spent seven years of my life growing up. It's where my childhood lies and where some of my greatest memories were made. Sandy Hook was the suburb of Newtown. To all of us who lived there, both places were technically the same thing. In my poem, I refer to both locations. For example, "waving her country's flag..." refers to the flag pole in the center of Newtown. You could see it for miles and it was basically the 'trademark' of Newtown. But when I jump to saying "...and sneak out to the baseball fields", this refers to the baseball fields that were actually on the Sandy Hook Elementary grounds. If by now you haven't made the connection, from "she looks into the distance.." to the very last line of the poem, I'm referring to 12/14/12, one of the most heart wrenching things I have ever felt in my life. If you haven't read about the aftermath already, all of Newtown/Sandy Hook has been able to move past this tragedy and stay positive as a community. This is why I repeated the last section, because the sun did rise again after that day and it brought a new beginning to those affected. 

Boone County, Kentucky

she lives in a world of her own
seducing even the most opposing hearts
she's got everything you want
she's got everything you need

at night she sits by the bonfire
looking over the river
drinking whiskey out of the bottle
with every friend shes got

at home she's got her city clothes
to get her through the week
but every weekend her heart comes home
to those dreams of freedom on the road

her mind is stuck way up in the ecstacy
of that sweet bluegrass air
foundation set in a bottle of anything
head swimming without a care
smoking a cigar from the county store
letting go of the troubles from her tired heart
simple pleasures from the small things
because she never asked for too much from the start

she's got no time for a backdoor man
she doesn't need the tears
only wants for the outdoors
and a good early morning beer

got a mouth like a switchblade
lord she knows how to fight
she's been to hell and back
still holdin' on tight
holding on to those old small town values
and everybody knows
if you try and fool her,
she's got a shotgun waiting for you

she's got her troubles
she won't hesitate to decree
got plenty of scars
but she's more than enough for me

shes a problem child
but almost always finds home
she walks down the city streets
but never forgets those hills she loves
she dances to the pop songs
longin' for those backcountry blues
she seems soft on the outside
but lord she's paid her dues

This post just reflects the area I'm from. A large portion of it is made up of suburbs but the country is never too far away. Boone county covers everything from the suburbs of Florence and Union, to the city streets of Covington just across the river from Cincinnati all the way over to the country roads and farms near Rabbit Hash and the outskirts of Union. It is a very diverse place but I have always preferred the countryside myself. I was born in the country so I have always loved the hills, woods, and open land.

Oldham County Kentucky

                                                                                                             Planted,
Her legs never work.
                                                                                                              Rolling,
Her mind is never still.
So in this state of perpendicular feelings
She begins to wonder how she has gotten here.

Her actions are...
                                               none
but her thoughts are
                                                                                  unmatched.


Often times she feels as if she is at the top
                                 only to find that she is trapped
The descent down to reality is more of a
                                                                 Reluctant
                                                                                  drag

She holds some beauty,
hidden in the silence

                                                                                                      can she be found?
Most likely she can not


she watches the fake smiles                                                                
and she watches the fake hand shakes                                       
                                                                                                                ?fake be she does how but






Her worst enemy is the opposite

              This girl,

is gorgeous.
Perfect teeth which compliment her bright blue eyes
                                                                                 But lying beneath, her angel has died.
Replaced by a demon
instilled from birth.

Proud of her money
and disgusted by her surrounding
                                                                                                                        *peasants*
poor neighbors





You see these 2 girls clash but
                                                  girl one doesn't understand WHY
                                                                                                      

she is okay though,
she can see the way people look in her eyes
                                                                           and she knows that they know she "knows"
and they can not do anything about it.
                                                                                  
            

                Oldham County is a very two sided county. In some areas the land is bare and is filled with disgusting, poorly kept farms. In other areas, the land is filled with million dollar houses and the roads are filled with Nissan GTRs and Audis. For the most part, everyone gets along regardless of economic status. My county is a pretty generic, low crime, good-to-raise your kid in county so I decided to focus on the rare, more dramatic aspects. There are certain groups of people that are considered to separate solely because of the socio economic statuses they wear. I am not sure if the poorer people are mad at the more wealthy people because they do not have as much money, or if the rich people are mad at the poor people because they just realized that money cannot buy happiness. Maybe both. Regardless of the reasoning behind the distinction, it was silly and unnecessary. I was lucky enough to be friends with everyone but close enough to hear about all of the drama. My friends on the poorer side of the county always had a unique type of intelligence that wasn’t always reflected in school work, as seen in girl one. My friends on the more wealthy side of the county drove nice cars and got great grades, as reflected in the second girl. (Keep in mind this is over dramatized). Sometimes I could see teachers automatically give the wealthy kids more praise for an act than would be given to an un wealthy kid. The poem is attempting to reflect my memories of certain people’s reaction to being ignored. I think that after a while of being ignored, a person will naturally become quiet. If this person becomes quiet, their intelligence is not lost, as reflected in the ending of the poem.

                                         

West Virginia

She doesn’t need you,

but she’ll suck you in anyway.

The more you know her

the more you’ll grow to need her.

Time with her feeds the soul and clears the conscience.

She’s been taken advantage of,

and she’s different for it,

but it makes her all the more

beautiful

when you see her smile or laugh.

She’d never start a fight

but she’ll sure as hell finish one.

She’s loyal to a fault and fiercely protective.

If she loves you,

she makes sure you know it.

She’d give to you the clothes off her back or the last dollar in her pocket.

She’s beautiful, but she doesn’t try to be.

You’ll never see a speck of makeup on her face,

she doesn’t want it,

she doesn’t need it.

She doesn’t need to be that easily understood.

If eyes are the window to the soul,

looking into her bright green irises you’ll find beauty within that

puts her smile to shame.

Her voice draws you in,

makes you feel safe,

makes you feel welcome,

makes you feel like you’re home.

The music she makes allows her to understand herself.

It’s beautiful, but it’s not for you.

You can listen, but it’s not for you.

You can listen but if you don’t understand, you never will.

She’s friendly, but she’ll keep you at arms length

until she knows she can trust you,

until she knows you’re like her.

She’ll give you every reason to leave, just to see if you’ll stay.

If you do stay, you’ll find in her a friend, a companion, a confidant, a soul mate.

She doesn’t need you,

but she’ll suck you in anyway.

The more you know her

the more you’ll grow to need her.

Time with her feeds the soul and clears the conscience.

This poem is about my home state, West Virginia. I tried to incorporate into her personality the state’s history, common perception from outsiders, the way I perceive the state and the way I feel when I go back home. I am very passionate about where I’m from and I think my love for the state shine’s through in this poem.

Lancaster, KY.

A sweet, nice woman

She is a your average beauty

Tall     Long brunette hair     Nice smile

Single mother

Smaller than most

Not much to her

Too stressed out

Doing it all on her own

In this small town of

                        No jobs

                        No opportunity

                        Nothing

Everyday routine

            It gets very old

Wake up

Make breakfast

Take the kids to school

Then she goes to work

Waves at her fellow employees

Says hi to everyone

Greets the children in the hallway

Puts on a fake smile

Hiding the stress of being a single mother

She hides it very well

Her first job

She’s a teacher at the elementary schoolhouse

            She teaches kindergarten

She enjoys teaching

It reminds her of the good old days

When he was still around

            They weren’t a happy family

                        But at least they were a family

She loves her first job

Takes kids to the babysitters

She dreadfully goes to her next job

Second job

She’s a waitress at the local burger house

            Standing at the window

                        Serving burgers fries and milkshakes

                                    Missing her kids

                                                She hates her second job

                                                            But she must do it to make ends meet

Too stressed out

Doing it all on her own

No one to help her

Picks the kids up

Finally goes home

Done with the stress of the day

She makes dinner

            Puts the kids to sleep

Starts on her last job

Third job

She is a single mother

A housewife

                        Cleaning

                        Dishes

                        Laundry           

                        Packs the kids lunches for the next day

Then finally she gets to sleep

She stays exhausted

Doing it all on her own

No one to help her

Trying to prove them all wrong

Keeping her stress and worries sealed away

Not wanting others to know

            It is hard without him

            It is hard without anyone

            It is too hard

But she manages it

            For her kids

She makes end meet

            For her kids

She acts like it isn’t hard

            For her kids

Her kids are her motivation

She would do anything for them

Wake up

            Repeat

                        Repeat

                                    Repeat

This prose poem is about my hometown on Lancaster, KY. I wrote it from this perspective because it was very common being a single mother in this town. In this small town, people tried to hide their problems and act as if their lives met the standard america dream expectation.